Chapter 601: Undefeated Yet
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Bale’s free-kick did not go in, which prompted a loud sigh from more than 20,000 Forest fans in the stadium. They had lost a good chance to equalize the score.
Three minutes later, van der Vaart’s long shot was slammed into the post by Čech. Terry kicked it out of bounds when the ball bounced back.
Nottingham Forest really seemed to lack a bit of luck. Both shots were unable to enter the goal even though they hit the goalpost twice.
Twain also found out that his offensive tactics in the middle seemed to have been seen through by Mourinho. Makelele’s foul against Wood was definitely not an accident or coincidence.
As long as Wood plugged in, Makelele would rush up to defend against him. It did not happen once or twice, but every single time. If Wood did not come up, Makelele would guard the defensive line next to Essien. As long as Wood came up to partic.i.p.ate in the offense, Makelele would mark him closely whether he had the ball or not.
There were rumors before the season that Makelele would leave Chelsea because he was old, and Chelsea did not need him. In the end, due to Abramovich’s clash with Mourinho on the transfer fee, Mourinho, who had little money to buy new players, kept Makelele.
Truthfully, even though Makelele was old, there was a big difference between having him and not having him on the field. With the defensive midfielder, who tirelessly ran and intercepted b.a.l.l.s in the midfield, Chelsea’s attacking players would be able to have the energy to focus on offense. The change was difficult to clarify in a few words. It affected a lot of areas and was complex in many ways. Chelsea’s offense was a lot sharper and its defense was more robust with him around.
Wood came up a few times and had no way to receive the ball. He was reduced to creating gaps for van der Vaart. Since he only had one function, Chelsea’s defense became easier.
The Forest team’s attacks did not have a way out. When they besieged Chelsea, it caused Chelsea’s defense to be become more compact instead, so there was no room to attack at all.
It looked like it would not work. They had to retreat and play defensive counterattack.
With that, the problem came. The other team was currently leading with one goal. They did not have a reason to press forward and play according to the Forest team’s expectations. If Chelsea had shrunk their defense and seized the opportunity to sneak attack, Twain had no good ideas. He had used the method to deal with other teams in the past, so he was well aware of the great thing about the move: if there were no other surprises, the team that won would often be the team that scored a goal first before playing defensive counterattack.
A football game was always full of all sorts of surprises, and the surprises were precisely the charm of football.
Twain still instructed the team start to retreat gradually. He did not believe that a gap would not appear in Chelsea.
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Nottingham Forest retreated in hopes to lure Chelsea out, and Chelsea refused to come out, as they were one goal ahead.
The two teams appeared to be playing a game of chicken, where there was a lot of “come out if you dare!” and “come in if you dare!” posturing.
Chelsea’s att.i.tude of clinging on with a one goal lead made the home fans extremely unhappy. Although the team they supported often did the same in the games, they did not like it when the other teams used it on them!
Organized hissing erupted in the stands. They did not boo the Forest team for trailing behind. Instead, they booed the Chelsea players for being cowards who did not dare to come out and fight the Forest team.
Therefore, when the Forest team attacked or held the ball, there was no hissing. It was all singing. And when the football fell to Chelsea’s feet, once they clearly intended to move forward, the boos would rang out instantly. No one directed it but the stopping and starting came naturally.
Up against such a clearly intended boos, Abramovich looked livid in the VIP box. Since Mourinho became a manager, his team had never been commended for “beautiful football.” When the media evaluated Mourinho’s Chelsea team, they always used words like “utilitarian,””conservative,””pa.s.sive,””ugly,” and so on. Abramovich did not that kind of football game.
How could he not be upset when it happened so openly in front of him?
Mourinho was unmoved in the face of the hail of boos raining down from the home fans. He stood on the sidelines with no intention of making any adjustments, his hands tucked inside his pants’ pockets, and looked at what was happening inside the field.
He knew that the game was ugly to watch and would give a sense of “pa.s.sive play”, and the boss, who was watching the game in the stands, would not be pleased. But he did not care about the noises or the perception of others. He was willing to do anything to win the game, and the game being ugly was an insignificant sacrifice.
He did not want the joke that he would not beat his opponent once in his coaching career at Chelsea to become a reality.
No matter how successful he was later, people would always recall his coaching experience. “Do you know who was the bane of Mourinho? Tony Twain! He never beat Nottingham Forest when he coached Chelsea!”
That would be a tragedy…
He was not going to let that happen.
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Someone once said that the turf at Chelsea’s home ground, Stamford Bridge stadium, was like a “vegetable plot” to describe how terrible the turf was. But the turf at the City Ground stadium was a veritable “vegetable plot.” The originally green field had turned brown in a lot of place, the color of upturned soil.
The rain made the field slippery. The players’ jerseys often changed color after they rolled on the ground. The dirt and pieces of gra.s.s, brought up by cleats, were scattered on the field. No one had the mind to return and fill them in again.
The field became full of potholes. The football made irregular movements on it, which caused the path of the ball to become more elusive and mistakes from the players on both sides start to increase.
Now it was up to whoever could take advantage of the other team’s mistakes as much as possible, so long as they had fewer mistakes.
Twain brought off Lennon, as the pitch conditions became so damaging to break through that Lennon had made mistakes and missed the ball three times in a row when he tried to break through. Lennon was clearly annoyed by the increasingly terrible field. He was getting increasingly agitated due the fact that the team was behind by a goal and the pitch conditions interfered with his play.
Twain decisively replaced him with Beckham, who was constantly on the bench due to minor injuries.
David Beckham’s appearance made the boos in the City Ground stadium disappear. Everyone stood up to applaud the big star player. His arrival had raised the international profile of the Forest team by a lot.
The team, which once defended the Champions League t.i.tle, was well known in the late seventies and early eighties. However, more than twenty years later, it gradually became unknown around the world. Even as Twain led the team to its third European Champions League t.i.tle, many people were still surprised — where did this unknown team come from?
The Forest fans, who were proud of their glorious past, were unhappy about the situation. Beckham’s arrival helped them solve this issue. Since the media and football fans paid attention to Beckham, they could not ignore the football club he played for. The media had to take great pains to introduce the past honors of the team which was somewhat unfamiliar to people. When the list of champions.h.i.+p t.i.tles came out, many people gasped. The obscure team actually won the Champions League twice before Twain!
This was what Evan Doughty and Allan Adams wanted to see: to bring in an internationally known football superstar to promote and publicize the new image of the Nottingham Forest Football Club.
David Beckham returned his thanks to the Forest fans who cheered for him before he got on the field. Admittedly, he was very focused on his personal image, knew how to maintain that image, and how to satisfy the wishes of the audience, but it was also undeniable that he was also a good professional footballer.
Twain did not bring him on to satisfy the sponsors and television viewers.
Beckham’s play weakened the Forest team’s ability to raid on the right flank, but the precise long pa.s.ses to transfer the ball and flank pa.s.ses had been strengthened.
Now that both sides made mistakes, Twain thought it would be better to take advantage of simpler and faster pa.s.ses rather than rely on breakthroughs to seek and seize the opponent’s mistakes. He believed Beckham had that ability to spot holes and then rely on his pa.s.ses to combat the root of the problem.
If the pitch was in a bad condition, which was not conducive to the movement of the football on the ground, they would take advantage of the aerial s.p.a.ce!
The change invigorated Bendtner, as his height and header shots were a beacon for the Forest team’s offense, guiding the direction of each kick and pa.s.s.
Beckham a.s.sisted Bendtner in nearly scoring a goal with a flank pa.s.s less than three minutes after he came on.
Positional play required a strong center forward, and Bendtner fit the bill.
With Beckham’s appearance, the Forest team adjusted the tactics. Their offense was no longer concentrated on the attacks in the middle or breakthroughs from the flank. Instead, it revolved around pa.s.ses from the flanks and long shots from the middle. They hoped that the opponent would make some fatal mistakes on such a muddy field during the game.
Chelsea remained unmoved and continued to defend to the death in the front of the goal. As the game went on, their counterattacks declined, and the number of players deployed for the counterattacks dwindled.
It was clear that Mourinho was satisfied with a one-goal lead and happy with the luck Chelsea had had so far. He believed that using the 1:0 score to suppress Tony Twain was the best revenge.
To complete this wonderful revenge, he could completely ignore the chairman’s murderous glare from the VIP box and the thunderous boos of the home fans, as well as the mutters from some of the players behind him. He just wanted to defeat Tony Twain by winning with the method that the man excelled in!
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The game time decreased and the number of shots from the Forest team increased, but the success rate was not high. A single pa.s.s routine from the flank could easily be prevented by the opponent, and Twain had run out of tricks and was at his wit’s end in the face of the “roguish tactic.”
He could only step up the offensive to crush Chelsea’s defenses and hope that the luck that he could not find in the entire game would be on his side at the most critical moment.
He did not believe in G.o.d, Gautama Buddha, or any other G.o.ds like Allah, the Greek t.i.tans, the Sun G.o.d, the Jade Emperor, Taishang Laojun. He did not believe in any G.o.ds from the galaxy, extragalactic star system, parallel universes, and other dimensions, but in that moment, he asked for support from the G.o.ds.
I don’t care who you are. I just ask this favor from any one of you!
If there were truly a G.o.d in the world, then the G.o.ds would surely think that this human being was shameless for asking for help when he did not believe in them.
They thought right. Tony Twain was a shameless person.
As shameless as he might be, there could be a certain G.o.d who was extremely bored that heard Twain’s plea.
As the game entered the final ten minutes, Beckham began to try more long shots in addition to his pa.s.ses from the flank. The Forest midfielders could change positions, so Beckham sometimes appeared in the middle. His long shot was of a high standard, and due to the addition of spin, it resulted in an arc that made it harder for the goalkeeper to guard against.
This was a more terrifying place for Beckham’s long shot than his average powerful shot.
In the 84th minute, when it was only six minutes from the end of the ninety-minute game, the commentator began to repeat, “Mourinho had beaten countless opponents since he started coaching Chelsea. He also has a record. His team has never lost to Barcelona in any eleven against eleven game. But he also has another record that causes him endless embarra.s.sment. He has encountered Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest teams numerous times in the league tournament and in the Champions League, but not once has he won… But those things are in the past. In this game so far, Chelsea is likely to take the three away points. The three points are of not much help to Chelsea’s current situation, but it is an end to one of Mourinho’s worries.”
The televised broadcast gave a close-up of Jose Mourinho’s profile. He still looked serious with his straight face and pursed lips. No trace of joy could not be seen on his face… Of course, it had something to do with the game not being done yet.
Twain also stood on the sidelines, still frowning. But his expression was a real reflection of his heart, completely different from Mourinho’s cool exterior.
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Beckham appeared again in the middle and he received a pa.s.s from van der Vaart. George Wood plugged in at high speed. The game was almost over, and yet the kid’s stamina and speed was still in good form. Makelele followed him as he retreated and created a brief void in front of Beckham.
Beckham seized on this fleeting opportunity to shoot straight ahead, barely running. He played like he had a free kick with his body leaning back and his right leg kicked an arc directly to the top corner of the goal!
Čech’s view was blocked by the wall-like crowd in front of the penalty area. When he found that Beckham’s kick was not a pa.s.s, but a shot to the goal, it was too late for him to jump and block. Beckham’s ball speed was rapid, so he did not even have time to jump. He just turned his head to look at the direction of the football.
The ball smacked into the net and made a plop!
It was not the side of the net, it was… a goal!
“David Beckham!” The commentator could not help laugh. “A goal in the 85th minute! Nottingham Forest equalized the score at the last minute! This is his second goal back in the Premier League! He has spoiled it for Mourinho!”
Standing on the sidelines like a sculpture, Mourinho finally moved when he saw Beckham score the goal. He waved his arms angrily, turned around and walked to the technical area. He walked around in front of the group of people, jabbering as he complained. He personally overturned the “cold” image he had just built up.
On the other hand, Twain calmed down. He did not celebrate wildly. He just turned around and high-fived Dunn and Kerslake in celebration.
Beckham ran to the corner flag area with open arms to greet the tsunami of cheers from the fans. Despite his repeated minor injuries and having to miss the last few games, he still proved his ability to the fans. There was a deep meaning in scoring. He sent a signal to McClaren: that there is nothing wrong with my form, bring me on and I will never run away when England needs me!
“I really hope that McClaren is watching this game,” the commentator shouted as the stadium erupted in thunderous cheers. “With Ashley Young busy chatting with naked women, did he forget that we still have David Beckham? McClaren only let him play during the garbage time! Someone once said that Beckham gave up going to the United States and chose to return to England just so that the manager of the national team could observe his form from nearby. Why not put our trust in this man again when we are facing the scenario where we may not be able to advance? He once saved us once — the previous 2002 World Cup qualifier against Greece — why can’t he do it again?! h.e.l.lo, Mr. McClaren, are you watching this game? If you’re still agonizing over not having a hero to step forward at a critical moment, just look here, here’s one! He just saved Tony Twain’s unbeaten record against Mourinho! He can also continue to save England!”
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The television commentator was right. Beckham’s goal just saved Tony Twain’s unbeaten record. The Forest team basically had no plan during the entire game. Every attack was countered by the opponent. Just when Twain thought the game would end like that and was feeling frustrated, a deity finally heard his repeated whine and could no longer bear the endless nagging. He sparked a flash of inspiration upon Beckham.
The score was finally fixed at 1:1.
When the ninety-minute game was over, Twain turned and walked toward Mourinho. He took the initiative to extend his hand and shouted Mourinho across the way, fearing that the other man would ignore him and walk away.
“What a pity, Mr. Mourinho!”
Mourinho heard his voice, turned his head to look at the smiling Twain, and said with a straight face, “it’s really strange that this is the first time I’ve met a manager who is so happy after he tied with the visiting team at home.”
With that, he did not shake Twain’s hand and turned around to walk off.
Twain stopped in surprise. He was also aware that there was something wrong with his conduct. He took back his outstretched hand and awkwardly scratched his head. He just thought about shaming Mourinho and did not expect to humiliate himself.
He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his team. It was really not a good result to tie with Chelsea at home, but that was how football games could be. He could accept a draw. By comparison, Mourinho was a lot unluckier. He still had not won!